New Delhi:

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said that he hoped that actions like suspension of MPs would not be taken in the 18th Lok Sabha. Speaking shortly after NDA’s Om Birla was re-elected as the Lok Sabha speaker, Mr Yadav said he believed that the BJP MP would be impartial towards the opposition and give its leaders equal opportunity.

“I congratulate you and extend you best wishes on behalf of all my colleagues. The post that you are occupying has glorious traditions attached to it. We believe that this will continue without any discrimination and as Lok Sabha Speaker you will give equal opportunities and respect to every member and party,” he said. 

ALSO READ | PM Praises Speaker Om Birla: “Key Bills Passed Under Your Leadership”

“Impartiality is a great responsibility of this great position… We expect that no public representative’s voice will be stifled, nor will an action like expulsion take place again,” he said.

Mr Yadav was apparently referring to the unprecedented suspension of more than 100 MPs during the Winter Session of Parliament last year.

“लोकसभा के नवनिर्वाचित अध्यक्ष जी को मैं बहुत-बहुत बधाई और शुभकामनाएं देना चाहता हूं। उम्मीद है लोकसभा के अध्यक्ष के रूप में आप हर सांसद और हर दल को बराबरी का मौका और सम्मान देंगे, निष्पक्षता इस महान पद की जिम्मेदारी है, किसी भी जनप्रतिनिधि की आवाज दबाई न जाए।”

– श्री अखिलेश… pic.twitter.com/oJEOc0UMVq

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) June 26, 2024

“Your control is on the Opposition but it should be on the ruling side too. The House should function on your signals and not the other way round,” he said.

“I hope that you would respect the Opposition as much as you respect the ruling dispensation and let them present their side,” Mr Yadav said.

Rahul Gandhi’s Similar Appeal To Lok Sabha Speaker

Speaking before Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also made a similar appeal to Om Birla and said that “it is very important that the voice of the Opposition is allowed to be represented in this House”.

“I am confident that you will allow us to speak. The question is not how efficiently the House is run. The question is how much of India’s voice is being allowed to be heard. So the idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is a non-democratic idea. And this election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution,” Mr Gandhi said.

LIVE: Welcoming the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha https://t.co/NvAdTFvoyP

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 26, 2024

“We are confident that by allowing the Opposition to speak, you will do your duty of defending the Constitution,” Mr Gandhi, who is also named as the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said.

ALSO READ | PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi Shake Hands As They Welcome New Lok Sabha Speaker

Mr Birla, a three-time BJP MP from Rajasthan’s Kota, was elected Lok Sabha Speaker for the second consecutive time on Wednesday after he won the election by a voice vote.

New Delhi:

More than a week after the Lok Sabha election results, the debate over Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and whether they can be hacked is back under the spotlight, thanks to ‘X’ Boss Elon Musk.

A remark by the Tesla CEO on EVMs prompted a sharp response from BJP leader and former technology minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. And now, Opposition leaders are sharing Mr Musk’s tweet to emphasise their concerns over EVMs.

Musk’s post, in which he flagged the risk of EVMs being hacked, also comes amid reports that a relative of Ravindra Waikar, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai North West, was using a phone that could be connected to an EVM. The reports have fuelled the EVM debate, with Opposition leaders questioning the Election Commission’s “silence”.

EVMs in India are a “black box,” and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them.

Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process.

Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability. https://t.co/nysn5S8DCFpic.twitter.com/7sdTWJXOAb

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2024

Elon Musk’s tweet on EVMs was in reply to a post by Robert F Kennedy Jr, nephew of former US President John F Kennedy and independent hopeful for the next US Elections, on polling in poll irregularities in Puerto Rico. “We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high,” Musk posted.

In response, former Union minister Chandrasekhar said Musk’s remark is a “huge sweeping generalization statement that implies no one can build secure digital hardware”.

“@elonmusk’s view may apply to US n other places – where they use regular compute platforms to build Internet connected Voting machines. But Indian EVMs are custom designed, secure and isolated from any network or media – No connectivity, no bluetooth, wifi, Internet. ie there is no way in. Factory programmed controllers that cannot be reprogrammed. Electronic voting machines can be architected and built right as India has done. We wud be happy to run a tutorial Elon,” he said.

This drew a short response from Musk, as he doubled down on his point. “Anything can be hacked,” he said. Mr Chandrasekhar argued that while “anything is possible”, EVMs continue to be a reliable voting method as compared to paper ballots.

Jumping into the debate, Opposition leaders shared Elon Musk’s remarks to stress their oft-repeated concerns about the EVM method.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said EVMs in Indian “are a ‘black box’ and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them”.

EVMs in India are a “black box,” and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them.

Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process.

Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability. https://t.co/nysn5S8DCFpic.twitter.com/7sdTWJXOAb

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2024

“Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability,” he said, while sharing Musk’s post and a news report on Ravindra Waikar’s election.

Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief and a Congress ally, shared Musk’s post. “Technology is to remove problems, if they become a cause of problems, their use must be stopped. When risks of EVM tampering are being flagged in several elections across the world and well-known technology experts are flagging risks, the BJP must clear the air on why they are bent on using EVMs,” he said, demanding that upcoming polls be used by ballot paper method.

Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi flagged the reports on Mumbai election. “This is a fraud at the highest level and yet the @ECISVEEP continues to sleep,” she said in a post on X.

The INDIA Opposition bloc, too, shared Elon Musk’s remarks from its official handle. 

The Election Commission maintains that the EVMs constitute a viable voting method and robust technical and administrative safeguards are in place for their use.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar recently took a swipe at those questioning EVMs. Addressing the media after the Lok Sabha poll results, he said, “The results of EVM are in front of everyone. Why to accuse that poor fellow? Let it rest for a few days. Let EVM rest till the next election. Then it will come out, then its battery will be changed, then its papers will be changed. Then it will get abused again, but will deliver good results. It has been showing similar results since the last 20-22 elections, the government keeps changing,” he said.

New Delhi:

There was a stampede-like situation at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh Tuesday that was headlined by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. The chaos erupted after the former UP Chief Minister arrived at the event, with over-eager party workers and supporters jostling with each other, and climbing over wooden barriers, to see Mr Yadav.

As the jostling and shoving escalated, not helped at points by unruly sections, the meeting devolved into bedlam. This was the third time a rally led by Mr Yadav has ended in disorder.

Visuals from the scene today showed carnage at a fair ground in the town of Saraymeer, with broken chairs and torn streamers littering the ground, prompting the police to step in and try and control the situation. The cops had to resort to a lathi charge to do so.

During the chaos Mr Yadav and others, including leaders from the INDIA opposition bloc, remained on stage and appealed, in vain, for the supporters and workers to calm down. The appeals, unfortunately, had no effect. Eventually, though, police restored a measure of order and Mr Yadav addressed the crowd.

The public rally was being held for the SP candidate in the Lalganj Lok Sabha seat, which Mr Yadav’s party is trying to win for the first time since Daroga Prasad’s 2004 success. 

संतकबीरनगर में उमड़ा ये जनसमर्थन बता रहा है कि भाजपा के विरुद्ध उठा ये जन सैलाब भाजपा के काग़ज़ी कामों और झूठे वादों की कश्ती डुबो देगा।

जनता ‘इंडिया गठबंधन’ से जिस उम्मीद और भरोसे से जुड़ रही है, हम उसका मान रखेंगे।

जनता छठे चरण में भाजपा की भरपूर छँटाई कर देगी।… pic.twitter.com/CfX8SxrWjC

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) May 21, 2024

In 2019 the seat was won by Sangeeta Azad from Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.

In this election Daroga Prasad has been fielded (as the joint INDIA bloc candidate) by the Samajwadi Party against the BJP’s Neelam Sonkar and the BSP’s Indu Chaudhry.

The Lalganj seat will vote in the sixth phase – on May 25.

This is not the first time chaos has visited one of Mr Yadav’s rallies in this election.

Earlier this week a rally in Prayagraj’s Phulpur had to be cancelled, leaving Mr Yadav and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who was also on stage, free for an impromptu on-stage chat.

READ | Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav Chat On Stage As Rally Scrapped Over Chaos

Mr Yadav and Mr Gandhi had to abandon plans for another joint election meeting, each without delivering their speeches. Sources said supporters broke through barricades trying to reach the dais at the rally.

READ | Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav Leave Rally Without Speech. Here’s Why

UP is a key battleground as the BJP bids for a third consecutive term in power. The state – dominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in the last two general elections and intervening state polls – sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, by far the most of any state.

According to the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties, the Samajwadi Party is contesting 63 seats while the Congress is contesting 17.

The state has voted in every phase so far and will vote in the sixth and seventh phases too.

The results will be out on June 4.

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Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh):

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav engaged in a free-wheeling conversation on stage at Prayagraj’s Phulpur as their public meeting got cancelled owing to a stampede-like situation at the public rally.

The Samajwadi Party chief has often claimed that the INDIA bloc will be winning 79 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh and will be facing a cut-throat contest at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi which he referred to as ‘Kyoto’.

“The Prime MP (PM Modi) had promised the people of Kashi that ‘Kyoto’ will be the world’s best city. Whether it became a reality or not will be determined by the people of Kashi in the elections.”

देश में बेरोजगारी, महंगाई और हिस्सेदारी सबसे बड़े मुद्दे हैं। ये हिंदुस्तान का आज और कल तय करेंगे।

इन मुद्दों पर INDIA के विजन को लेकर श्री @RahulGandhi और समाजवादी पार्टी अध्यक्ष श्री @yadavakhilesh के बीच बातचीत हुई।

यूपी pic.twitter.com/P5rHw17mzx

— Congress (@INCIndia) May 19, 2024

Akhilesh’s reference to Kyoto is a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had promised that his government would be developing Varanasi in the style of Japan’s Kyoto city.

Taking a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “This time Mann ki Baat won’t work. They have to listen to us, 140 crore people and that of the Constitution.”

Speaking about unemployment, Rahul Gandhi said, “PM Modi has made Uttar Pradesh the centre of unemployment.”

Pointing at the jeering crowd, Akhilesh Yadav said, “These are those youths who did not get jobs owing to Agniveer or paper leak. The false promises given by the BJP of Investment Meets, Defence Expo or those dreams sold at the G20 Summit are visible.”

Speaking about his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief said, “He was very attached to the ground. I have learnt several things from Netaji starting from his hard work, his determination to stay focussed on his goal and his fight for equality started by Ram Manohar Lohia.”

Pointing out the strength of their alliance, Rahul Gandhi said, “The INDIA alliance that has been formed this time has never been seen. All the parties are together in the fight.”

On the alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, Mr Yadav said, “This is a natural alliance and people can see that. The youth can connect with us because we are highlighting issues like employment.”

In an attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Yadav said, “The BJP acts on its own will.”

To this Rahul Gandhi added, “They think that there is no need for discussion because they know everything.”

Highlighting the importance of holding discussions, Mr Yadav said, “The more there are discussions, the more we listen to others and trust others, the stronger will be our democracy. The BJP has not only endangered our lives but is also posing a threat to our democracy and our Constitution.”

Speaking about the alleged threat from neighbouring China, Mr Yadav said, “Our borders with China at Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh are very insecure. On top of that China also posed a threat to our markets. So we need to give a boost to our manufacturing sector.”

On ensuing reservations to all castes in every sector of the society, Mr Yadav said, “Social justice, caste census is important for the country. America and European countries undertake several welfare measures for those who are left behind. This will play a major role in our country to uplift those people who are left behind based on caste.”

Uttar Pradesh which contributes the maximum number of seats to the Lok Sabha elections is voting in all seven phases. According to the seat-sharing agreement between the two parties, the Samajwadi Party is contesting 63 seats while the Congress is contesting 17.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had to abandon a joint election meeting in Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh, today without delivering their speeches because of an unruly crowd.

Sources said the supporters broke through barricades trying to reach the dais at the INDIA bloc rally in Padila Mahadev.

The Congress and Samajwadi Party supporters had reached the venue to attend the rally. When Akhilesh Yadav arrived, they broke through the barricades to reach him, creating a “stampede-like” situation, reported news agency Press Trust of India, quoting unnamed police sources.

Congress leader Rewati Raman Singh said the size of the crowd was responsible for the disturbance.

“The crowd had become too large, and there weren’t enough police officers, which caused the crowd to become uncontrollable and rush the stage. As a result, Akhilesh Ji and Rahul Ji had to leave without giving their speeches,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Given the situation, security officers had advised the two leaders to leave the spot.

Mr Singh’s son Ujjwal Raman Singh is the Congress candidate from Prayagraj. He is contesting against the BJP’s Neeraj Tripathi, son of senior leader Keshari Nath Tripathi,

Polling in the constituency will take place in the sixth phase of the ongoing elections on May 25.

(With agencies)

Raebareli:

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Friday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “khata-khat” jibe at the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, and said the public is now going to remove him from the top post “fata-fatt, fata-fatt, fata-fatt (quickly)”.

Mr Yadav targeted the Prime Minister while addressing an INDIA bloc rally here in the presence of Congress candidate Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi also joined the public meeting later.

Mr Yadav said, “They (BJP and PM Modi) are saying that we will go abroad, but the people of our country are aware, they know that he (PM Modi) has sent his important people and friends abroad one after the other. His friends, one after the other, fled abroad ‘khata-khat khata-khat (swiftly).”

Accusing the Modi government of drowning the country in debt, Mr Yadav said, “Now, the public is telling them that they will remove you fata-fatt, fata-fatt, fata-fatt.”

He also said that those who asserted they will not indulge in corruption themselves nor allow others to indulge in corruption (“na khaunga, na khane dunga“), have swallowed everything and are saying “gata-gat gata-gat”.

“Sab dakar gaye aur keh rahen hain gata-gat gata-gat. (They have not even burped after devouring electoral bonds),” he said.

Addressing a public meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi had said the INDIA bloc will disintegrate post-elections and Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav will go abroad on a summer vacation ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘.

He used the ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘ phrase at a rally in Fatehpur on Friday as well.

“The dreams of ‘panja’ (Congress’s poll symbol) and ‘cycle’ (SP’s poll symbol) have shattered ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘. Now they are planning for post-June 4 as to who should be blamed for the defeat ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘. And, someone was telling me that tickets for foreign trips have also been booked ‘khata-khat, khata-khat‘.”

PM Modi’s jibe came in response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi often using the phrase “khata-khat khata-khat” to claim that a fixed stipend would flow into the accounts of poor women if his party comes to power.

Hitting out at PM Modi without taking his name, Mr Yadav said at his rally on Friday, “There is a very big leader of the country who feigns a relationship with every place he goes.”

Pointing towards the crowd, Mr Yadav said, “Let them also see and hear that Rahul Gandhiji’s true relationship is with Raebareli. If ‘Ra’ is for Raebareli then ‘Ra’ is also for Rahul.” “Those who do not understand counting should also understand that one plus one has become 11 and the BJP has become nau do gyaraha (fled). Those who have seen the four phases of elections know that the BJP is defeated,” Mr Yadav said.

Taking aim at MLA Manoj Pandey, who left the SP and joined the BJP, Mr Yadav said, “I heard that our second traitor has also gone there (to BJP). One speciality of the fraudster who has just gone there is that wherever he goes, he digs a hole.”

Mr Pandey, who came out in support of the BJP candidate during the Rajya Sabha elections earlier this year, joined the BJP in Raebareli on Friday and sat next to Home Minister Amit Shah on the stage. Recently Shah had also visited his residence.

Voting will be held in the fifth phase in Raebareli on May 20, where BJP has fielded state minister Dinesh Pratap Singh against Congress’ Rahul Gandhi.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is contesting today from the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, says he is secure in the support of Dalits, that came to the party when it had tied up with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party in 2019. In contrast, the BJP, he implied, despises the so-called lower castes.

“When I went to a temple, the BJP got it washed,” he said, referring to the BJP workers’ purification ceremony at the Gauri Shankar Mahadev Mandir of Kannauj after his visit. A video of the purification ceremony was widely circulated in social media and the incident had provided boost to the SP efforts to weave a rainbow support group of voters at the constituency.

“Today, the fight is big. Today, the BJP wants to change the Constitution which taught us how to live… They will do so if they get 400 seats,” Mr Yadav said, underscoring what has become the Opposition’s biggest allegation.

Mr Yadav has returned to Kannauj to reclaim an old family bastion — his father Mulayam Singh Yadav had nurtured the constituency for years. But the seat went to the BJP in 2019 and sitting MP and perfume trader Subrat Pathak is out to defend it. The battle is seen as the centrepiece of today’s election in Uttar Pradesh as voting is being held on nine other seats.

The fight will be triangular with the BSP fielding Imran Bin Zafar.
“Kannauj parliamentary constituency has taught me the ABCD of politics… I grew in politics in Kannauj,” Mr Yadav said today, referring to his political debut from the seat in 2000.

The fight for Kannauj will be the first Lok Sabha battle for the SP chief in a long time. In 2022, he had resigned his Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat and retained the assembly seat from Karhal.

Mr Pathak has been a repeat contestant from the seat since 2009 and ended the SP’s 35-year dream run at the constituency after a decade in 2019. His opponent was Dimple Yadav, the wife of the SP chief.

Reminding voters of the old times, Mr Yadav said, “People of Kannauj know how much development took place when Samajwadi Party was in power and why development is not happening here today… We gave world class infrastructure to Kannauj, built the world’s best roads… built a market”.